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Friday, August 28, 2009

Andy Carpenter gains possession of an adorable Bernese puppy whose owner was brutally murdered. Few can rival Andy's affection for dogs, and he will do whatever it takes to insure that this little pup doesn't fall into the wrong hands. However, his playful new friend is valued by several people, many of whom are willing to resort to violence to get what they want. It will take more than Andy's usual courtroom theatrics to save this dog, including a little help from his beloved golden retriever, Tara.

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ABOUTTHE AUTHOR: DAVID ROSENFELT

I am a novelist with 32 dogs.

I have gotten to this dubious position with absolutely no planning, and at no stage in my life could I have predicted it. But here I am.

My childhood was relentlessly normal. The middle of three brothers, loving parents, a middle-class home in Paterson, New Jersey. We played sports, studied sporadically. laughed around the dinner table, and generally had a good time. By comparison, "Ozzie and Harriet's" clan seemed bizarre.

I graduated NYU, then decided to go into the movie business. I was stunningly brilliant at a job interview with my uncle, who was President of United Artists, and was immediately hired. It set me off on a climb up the executive ladder, culminating in my becoming President of Marketing for Tri-Star Pictures. The movie landscape is filled with the movies I buried; for every "Rambo", "The Natural" and "Rocky", there are countless disasters.

I did manage to find the time to marry and have two children, both of whom are doing very well, and fortunately neither have inherited my eccentricities.

A number of years ago, I left the movie marketing business, to the sustained applause of hundreds of disgruntled producers and directors. I decided to try my hand at writing. I wrote and sold a bunch of feature films, none of which ever came close to being actually filmed, and then a bunch of TV movies, some of which actually made it to the small screen. It's safe to say that their impact on the American cultural scene has been minimal.

About five years ago, my wife and I started the Tara Foundation, named in honor of the greatest Golden Retriever the world has ever known. We rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes. Our own home quickly became a sanctuary for those dogs that we rescued that were too old or sickly to be wanted by others. Right now they number 32, and they surround me as I write this. It's total lunacy, but it works, and they are a happy, safe group.

DAVID ROSENFELT was the former marketing president for Tri-Star Pictures before becoming a writer of novels and screenplays. OPEN AND SHUT is his first novel.

David Rosenfelt Interviews His Character, Andy Carpenter

David Rosenfelt: I'm talking with defense attorney Andy Carpenter, main character in seven of my novels. Andy, can you tell me a little about your new book, New Tricks?

Andy Carpenter: I should tell you about it? You wrote it.

DR: I realize that, but I'd like our readers to be familiar with it.

AC: So tell them to buy it.

DR: You seem a little out of sorts. Is something bothering you?

AC: I agreed that you can write about my cases, but I didn't say anything about doing publicity. This interviewing stuff is not in my contract. Besides, I'm a lawyer; I like to ask questions, not answer them.

DR: Would you rather be asking me the questions?

AC: Anything would be better than this. You ready?

DR: Sure.

AC: OK. Since you created me, why did you have to make me so short?

DR: I've never actually said how tall you are, but I always thought about five foot ten.

AC: Can I dunk a basketball?

DR: Not even if you stood on a chair.

AC: So you made me short, a physical coward, unsure around women, argumentative, and generally lazy. And you wonder why I don't want to sit here and chat with you?

DR: I also made you smart and funny, and I gave you Tara, the greatest dog in the history of the world.

AC: That's the one thing we agree on. How about letting me get Tara some friends?

DR: She has Waggy, the Bernese Mountain Dog in New Tricks.

AC: I knew you'd work that in. I'm talking about getting a whole bunch of dogs.

DR: How many?

AC: How many do you have? In real life...

DR: Twenty seven, mostly golden retrievers. We rescue them.

AC: Twenty seven? You're a total nutcase, and I've gotta tell you, I'm not sure I'm comfortable having a nutcase for a creator.

DR: Keep complaining and I'll shrink you to five foot six.

AC: You could do that?

DR: Piece of cake.

Bingo's Review of NEW TRICKS:

For those lucky readers familiar with Andy Carpenter, the creation of David Rosenfelt, this is another fun read. However, if you are like me, perhaps a little background would help. Wealthy attorney, Andy Carpenter, like to work on interesting cases, especially if he can win them. So when moneyed scientist, Walter Timmerman, is murdered, the case, in a way, comes to Andy. Judge Henry Henderson decides that Andy should be the attorney to take custody of Timmerman's mountain dog puppy, Waggy, who has suddenly become the center of attention in a custody battle between Timmerman's second wife, Diane, and her stepson, Steven Timmerman.

Andy gets help from his best friend, golden retriever Tara, and his girlfriend, police officer Laurie Collins. When Andy goes to pick up the dog at the widow Timmerman's house, he does so only to have an explosion follow and Diane Timmerman is killed. Now the suspect becomes Steven and yet why would all these people be fighting over the dog?

Andy tries to figure out the case and with many twists and turns and even his own people being put in possible danger, realizes that it isn't a person who is in danger, but rather the canine Waggy. What could make this dog so important and valuable that people would kill for him? Rosenfelt, with his typical dash of humor and mayhem, drives readers a bit crazy trying to figure things out and the ending is one that is pure surprise.

This is my first time reading David Rosenfelt and his Andy Carpenter series, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fast read, kept my interest, and although there was a mystery to solve, it still was done with much humor and that made it especially enjoyable for me.

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NEW TRICKS GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Miriam and the great folks atHachette Book Group, I have 5 copies of thisdog-gone good legal thriller for you to try for!

68
comments:

That is a lot of dogs! My oldest son would be in heaven. He is a dog lover. My middle son, not so much, very scared.

We do not have a dog any longer. We did when my oldest son was born, which was 10 years ago. Buddy was the dog, he was a maltese. He got hit by a car, he ran out when the door openend. It was SO SAD! Man, I need to try to end on a more positive note...

I have two Chihuahua's, one short hair that is 7 named Dottie, and one crazy 5 month old appropriately named Tazmon Dickens better known as Taz. He is a long haired Chi. rebecca[dot]cox[at]charter[dot]net

I have 2 chocolate labs, named Sara and Tessa. Sara is a sweet rescue that I adopted. She now does therapy dog work and enjoys spending the day cuddling on the couch. Tessa plays agility and could fetch all day long!

I have one dog. He is a Mini Schnauzer named Lucky. We saved him from a busy road a year ago. He didn't have a collar on and no one claimed him from animal control so we did! We are lucky to have him! :) Animals who are saved are the best pets ever!!

14 years ago, David Rosenfelt and his wife started the Tara Foundation, named in honor of the greatest Golden Retriever the world has ever known. They rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes.

I love the fact that the author of this book has a dog rescue and currently has 32 dogs! What a great thing. Nothing better than a rescue dog. I know, I currently have 2, who will be mentioned in my next entry. Thank you.

I currently have 2 rescue dogs. One is Hank, a retriever/setter mix adopted from the Humane Society shelter near us, and the other is Bingo (yep Bingo), who is a terrier mix, adopted from a lady who runs a rescue group like the author. Bingo was dumped as a stray in Texas and fostered by the rescue until being adopted by us.

I have four dogs - two rescues and two that I have gotten. They are all four Chihuahuas - three boys one girl, all fixed very important. There names are Malcomb, Daisy, Eugene and Peanut. Please include me in your giveaway.ThanksDebbiedebdesk9(at)verizon.net

David Rosenfelt is an amazingly accomplished man! I love the fact that he and his wife have rescued and saved over 4,000 dogs many of them golden retrievers and started The Tara Foundation in honor of one of these beautiful dogs.

I don't have a dog right now because it's too difficult for me to care for one. But when I was growing up, my family had several dogs. One was a beautiful Golden Retriever named Sasha. She was the sweetest, gentlest animal I have ever known. I had several young cousins who were at my house all the time. The 2 and 3 year old ones used to throw themselves across Sasha's body and sleep and lie on her. She would just lie there and let them The 3 year-old loved to open Sasha's mouth and look at her teeth and touch her tongue. Still, she would just sit there looking at the adults as if to say, "How long must I put up with this?" but she never hurt my cousins, not once no matter what they did to her. I will forever have wonderful memories of sweet Sasha.

My sons and I used to have a golden lab and her name was Chessibelle. She was a wonderful gentle dog but unfortunately she ran away 2 years ago and has not returned :-(. We also had a Wapoo, but due to my son's allergies of long haired animals we had to give Bingo away :-(. We are looking for the right dog now and hope to have it for years to come! :-)

Thanks to all!

Sadly, we will be saying good bye to Bookin' With Bingo early next month. Things just have been too hectic so we have chosen to close down with hopes for a new "BWB" someday. Thanks to all and KEEP READING!